Loop Road project could start in January

Wednesday

Sep 19, 2012 at 12:01 AM

TUSCALOOSA | The probate judge’s recusal and a traffic circle’s removal have allowed Tuscaloosa City Hall to finish the last four right-of-way purchase agreements for the final phase of the Loop Road improvement project.

By Jason MortonStaff Writer

TUSCALOOSA | The probate judge’s recusal and a traffic circle’s removal have allowed Tuscaloosa City Hall to finish the last four right-of-way purchase agreements for the final phase of the Loop Road improvement project.The City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the agreements, which committed $19,545 in local tax dollars toward obtaining the tracts from three property owners.The Office of the City Engineer can now begin working out authorization agreements with local utility providers to relocate power lines, gas lines and other utilities that fall within the planned path of the $2.1 million project.“This is the final phase,” said Councilman Bob Lundell, who represents the Loop Road area as part of District 6. “Once it’s complete, you’ll have a sidewalk from one end of Loop Road to the other.”The final stage will widen Loop Road from Fairmont Drive to Woodland Road, smooth out some of the curves along that stretch and add a sidewalk to the road’s south side.Also part of the project is the addition of an underground pipe network and other upgrades to improve stormwater drainage, which that section of the road now lacks.A traffic circle was initially planned for the Loop Road’s intersection with Cherokee Road, but Deputy City Engineer David Griffin said it was cut from the plan to placate residents and speed along the property acquisition process.The process was amplified in June when the City Council authorized the use of its eminent domain powers to take what were then six remaining tracts of land from uncooperative landowners.The decision to exercise these rights, which Lundell said he did not support, was based on the city obtaining a grant through the Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation and Improvement Program.The grant would provide for $812,000 of the $2.1 million total cost of the project. However, the grant came with time restrictions that required officials to accelerate the land acquisition timetable.Soon after the eminent domain procedures were filed in probate court, Probate Judge Hardy McCollum recused himself from the process because he lives near Loop Road.That recusal would have forced Alabama Supreme Court Justice Chuck Malone to appoint a temporary probate court, Griffin said.“This would’ve created a delay in time,” Griffin said, “and a delay in time was not in our best interest.”The traffic circle was then cut from the plans, reducing the amount of property that would be needed from some of the reluctant landowners.And it was enough, Griffin said, to allow the land acquisition process to be settled out of court, which two property owners have already agreed to.Tuesday’s vote cemented agreements with all remaining property owners, officials said.Because of the use of federal dollars, the Alabama Department of Transportation will oversee the administration and awarding of construction contracts for the work.Griffin said that, because of additional bureaucratic hurdles that accompany state and federal oversight, he anticipates that contract to be awarded in January.And once that work begins, it will signal the final stage of a construction project that has been ongoing since 2006.The most recently finished phase of the project, the stretch from Hargrove Road to Fairmont Drive, was completed about two years ago.Griffin, who also serves as the city’s traffic engineer, said he is ready for this project to be finished.“The traffic engineer,” Griffin said, “will be glad to see the day when he can ride upon it.”